UAAP: DLSU topples league-leading FEU

As the rain poured down all over Metro Manila, the DLSU Green Archers made it rain all over the Mall of Asia Arena. Riding on three pointers from Almond Vosotros, Jason Perkins, and Matt Salem, the Green Archers used a scorching second quarter run to distance themselves as they avenged their first round loss to the FEU Tamaraws with a 75-66 win.

“Yung loss na yun talagang masakit,” a composed Jeron Teng said after the game.  “Defense yung focus [namin] talaga [down the stretch].”

With the Green Archers up by just seven points after a basket from Carl Bryan Cruz in the fourth, it seemed as if they were in familiar territory with less than two minutes left in the game.

Free throws from Arnold van Opstal, Teng and Vosotros, who all split their charities, propelled DLSU to its second victory in as many games in the second round.
“Everyone’s been trying to learn to play with each other,” said head coach Juno Sauler after the game. ” In between breaks, we had twice a day [practices].”

The rookie Perkins, who fouled out in their last win against Adamson, led the Green Archers with 18 points, 13 rebounds and a block. Teng and Vosotros finished with 16 and 13 points respectively, while Mark Belo and Roger Pogoy were the unlikely leaders for FEU with 16 points apiece.

It was an all around effort from the Green Archers when it came to their scoring as the veteran van Opstal had nine points and Salem had six points on two three pointers in just 12 minutes. Heralded rookie Kib Montalbo chipped in with five points and four rebounds, and he continued to be a steady presence at the point guard position with starting guard Thomas Torres still sidelined by sickness.

FEU’s star trio of leading MVP candidate Terrence Romeo, former UAAP MVP RR Garcia and streaky guard Mike Tolomia were limited to a total of just 24 points on nine out of 38 shooting from the field after averaging a combined 43.1 points per game on the season.

Early on though, it looked like the Tamaraws were ready to run away with the game. FEU scored the first five points of the game before Norbert Torres opened the scoring for the Green Archers. The first quarter was somewhat a back and forth affair as both teams exchanged baskets until the 4:17 mark wherein the game was finally tied at 11 points apiece. After a timeout, DLSU went on a 12-3 run to finish the first quarter with a nine point lead, 23-14.

Sensing blood in the water, DLSU used a barrage of three pointers to push their lead to its peak of 22, 43-21 with4:16 left before half time. FEU quickly responded with a 12-1 run to cut the lead to 11 at 44-33 going into the break. Taking advantage of their chances at the free throw line, the Tamaraws made eight out of 10 to give themselves a fighting chance against a much smaller deficit heading into the halftime break. There was much commotion as both teams headed into the locker room though and FEU head coach Nash Racela was tagged with a technical foul.

After Vosotros split the two technical free throws before the third period, the Green Archers maintained their lead over the Tamaraws, but baskets from Roger Pogoy and Anthony Hargrove kept FEU within striking distance throughout the quarter. Despite making three out of 10 free throws during the quarter, the Taft-based squad maintained a double digit lead entering the fourth, 60-50.

In the final canto, FEU went on a 10-2 run to open things up, cutting the lead to two at 62-60 with 6:23 left in the game. Mark Belo scored five points in that run, sending the Lasallian faithful into a panicked and shocked state. After a La Salle timeout, Teng checked back into the game and the pace once again changed. Timely baskets from Teng, Vosotros and van Opstal gave the Green Archers a much needed lift to close out the game and the team finished with a strong 13-6 run. Teng, long criticized for his lack of composure in the end game, came up with the timely baskets and he scored seven of his 16 points in the final quarter. Teng also added nine rebounds and an assist, and the Tamaraws were not able to recover late in the game as they succumbed to their second loss of the season.

Despite missing 19 free throws and committing 17 turnovers, DLSU was in control for most of the game, with the Green Archers outrebounding the Tamaraws 59-36. Perkins led the team with 13 while Teng had nine. Norbert Torres had seven while van Opstal and Matt Salem had six apiece. The Green Archers also shot better from the field at 41.8 percent compared to FEU’s clip of 31.8 percent.

Up next for the Green Archers are the UP Fighting Maroons whom they will face at 2PM at the Araneta Coliseum on August 24, Saturday.

“I don’t know,” said Coach Juno Sauler when asked about the Green Archer’s game plan for the next game. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll know how we’ll play against UP.”

The Scores:

DLSU 75 – Perkins 18, Teng 16, Vosotros 13, van Opstal 9, Salem 6, Montalbo 5, N. Torres 4, Tampus 4, Revilla 0, Bolick 0

FEU 66 – Pogoy 16, Belo 16, Romeo 12, Tolomia 7, Hargrove 6, Garcia 5, Cruz 4, Inigo 0, Sentcheu 0, Mendoza 0, Lee Yu 0, Jose 0, Dennison 0, Delfinado 0, Aguilon 0

Quarter scores:

23-14, 44-33, 60-50, 75-66